Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

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More than 15 new direct-feed movies show off new areas and scenarios from the near-complete game. Also, updated impressions.

By IGN Staff

Publisher LucasArts last week at the Nintendo Gamers' Summit 2003 in San Francisco showed off a near-final version of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike. The latest build of the GameCube action-shooter offered us a closer look at the game, opening up levels that were previously locked, and so naturally we were happy.

A LucasArts rep on hand at the event demoed some of the new areas in Rebel Strike for us. But first, he spotlighted the Battle of Hoth stage in the game once more. It functions in exactly the same way as it always has, looks identical to the last version we saw, but now features improved crash sequences for the AT-ATs. Main hero Luke Skywalker must still run about the giant, snowy locale, blast at troopers, ride a Tauntaun, man turrets, and eventually take to the skies in an X-Wing. Hoth appears to be one of the most polished levels in the title.

In one never-before-seen game area, Luke hovers above the famous Sarlacc Pitt, the resting place of Jabba the Hut in the feature film Return of the Jedi. Here, players must move Skywalker -- now dressed in trademark black attire -- from one ship to the next. The skiffs glide back and forth through the desert as Luke tries to jump between them. If he miscalculates, he takes a fall into the pit where he will be painfully digested over 1,000 years, as the movie tells us. Meanwhile, he must successfully protect himself from enemy fire. It's a lot more difficult than it sounds. The LucasArts rep who previewed this stage to us fell into the pit a half-dozen times before giving up. We didn't get a chance to play this one for ourselves, but it looks intriguing.

There are new on-foot missions, too. Luke travels to a grassy world complete with hordes of troopers. He must run around the enormous environment, filled with enemies and hovercraft, find the nearest turret and start blasting. It's a fun departure from the standard flight missions seen in the last Rogue Squadron title.

In other areas, Luke pilots his trusty speeder bike not through the lush forests of Endor, but across an ocean. Players must avoid crashing into the mountains on either side while zooming along the water. Eventually Luke will also soar his bike across the tops of the mountains, lightning flashing in the distance and temporarily illuminating the world. The trick here is to boost across chasms between the mountains or run the risk of crashing and burning into them. Control is simplified and easy to learn. Bike physics seem comfortable. But the camera system is still a bit on the static side, seemingly tethered to the bike itself with no give or bounce.

In what has to be one of the most drastic visual breaks from other Star Wars locales, players will have to fly the B-Wing into space and deep inside an energy tunnel. The tunnel is basically a giant energy shield that shimmers back and forth and gamers must avoid sizzling lightning bolts that flash out into the corridor itself. On the opposite end of the tunnel is an opening filled with gorgeous fogging and large groups of TIE Fighters. It's not difficult to imagine the carnage that ensues.

Of course there are more flight missions to speak of too -- another attack on massive Star Destroyers, for example, but surprisingly the mission that most captured our attention this time out involved AT-STs, not X-Wings. Here players capture one of the Imperial Walkers and control it around what looks to be some sort of gargantuan aircraft carrier. Whatever the structure is, it's submerged in seawater. The level looks absolutely beautiful and manipulating the AT-STs through it is quite a lot of fun. Both first- and third-person views are available to the Star Wars purists.

Stormtroopers say: Download 15 new movies and 25 new screenshots in the IGNcube media section.

All in all, Rebel Strike appears to be coming along nicely. We still have some gripes: the static camera system and the robotic animation that seems to accompany the main characters in the on-foot missions. But it seems a certainty that anybody who enjoyed Rogue Leader will find Rebel Strike all the more worthwhile.

We've processed 15 new movies that show off many never-before-witnessed areas of the game. We highly recommend that Insiders download the QuickTime versions of the movies as they are of higher quality. Everyone, however, can enjoy the 25 new screenshots of the title we've also posted.